WORK HARD, VP NOLI URGES GRADS
March 30, 2008

Vice President Noli “Kabayan” De Castro called on young Filipinos to emulate the values of hard work and commitment in order to succeed in life even as he warned about a growing “culture of gossip” that erode people’s understanding of truth.

De Castro made the statement during graduation ceremonies last week (March 28) at the Nueva Vizcaya General Comprehensive High School .

According to De Castro, people who succeed are those who learned to love their work drawing from his earlier experience as a broadcast journalist.

“I am vice president of the country today not because of sheer luck but because of my commitment to plain hard work,” he said.

De Castro also lauded the achievements of student journalists from the school even as he underscored the vast difference between news and gossip. He warned that both attempt to present themselves as truth but there is a very big difference between the two.

“News is the product of the hard work of the journalist who is willing to take responsibility for what he writes or broadcasts. Gossip, on the other hand, is the work of the imagination of irresponsible parties,” he explained.

News, whether good or bad, helps people make decisions, he added. Gossip, on the other hand, merely provides people an excuse to meddle in the lives of others, he also said.

De Castro warned that there appears to be a confusion at present as to what legitimate news is and what is plain gossip. He called on the graduates to go for the legitimate news and shun gossip.

“News will help you make decisions for yourselves, family, career, business and for your participation in the political life and selection of the leaders of our nation,“ he added.

De Castro recalled that as a practicing broadcast journalist, he placed his name on the line every time he aired a piece of news. If that news proves to be wrong or incomplete, that would be a diminution of his credibility.

“I am responsible for the news I aired and I am answerable to every Filipino who hears my stories,” he said.

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